Analysis of electronic micro-payment market

See-To, Eric W. K. and Jaisingh, Jeevan and Tam, Kar Yan (2007) Analysis of electronic micro-payment market. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 8 (1). pp. 63-83. ISSN 1938-9027

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Abstract

Despite the potential of micro-payment systems very few systems have been successful. Little is known about the reasons behind the successful few and the failures of the majority. Micro-payment markets exhibit two-sided network effects and the underlying dynamics of these markets are not very well understood. Based on a stylized model of a two-sided market, we find that a 'survival mass' of merchants and consumers is required for a micro-payment system to exist and a 'critical mass' for the acceptance levels to take off and remain stable. We also find the non-intuitive result that lowering the consumer-side adoption cost will actually reduce the chances for the micro-payment market to develop. Thus, subsidization alone cannot create a micro-payment market. Anecdotal evidence supports this finding. When subsidization is needed, the consumer side will normally be subsidized. The two-sided market structure makes comparative analysis complex and non-trivial, rendering the implementation of micro-payment systems very difficult as indicated by the mixed results of a number of initiatives worldwide.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Electronic Commerce Research
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2000
Subjects:
?? network effectstwo-sided marketmicro-payment systemssmart card technologyelectronic cashgame theoryeconomics, econometrics and finance(all)computer science applicationsdiscipline-based research ??
ID Code:
44725
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
11 Jul 2011 18:20
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 12:00